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| My biggest supporter, "a training Trish, is a happy Trish"!!! |
Morning clothes bag:
Light jacket
Bottle w/
Hammer Perpetuem
Gatorade for
aero bottle
Ziplock w/
peanut butter pretzels, energy blasts, and salt tabs)
Pump
Sunscreen
Wetsuit
Goggles
Swim cap
Protein
shake
Gatorade
Chapstick
Body glide
Bike gear bag:
Helmet
Shoes
Sunscreen
Glasses
Anti chafe
cream
Additional
nutrition (cliff fruit, salt tab container, energy blasts)
Bike special needs bag:
Tube
Co2
Tylenol/ibuprophen
Run gear bag:
Run skirt
Run top
Sunscreen
Visor
Handheld
water bottle w/ chapstick
Race belt w/
number, salt tablets, and gu
Body glide
Run special needs bag:
Socks
Tylenol/ibuprophen
Swim:
My plan was
to wear a wetsuit IF it was legal. I ended up walking out of the house
forgetting my wetsuit. Thankfully the water temperature was 77 degrees, making
the swim NOT wetsuit legal. I saw a small contingent of people dressed in
wetsuits for the OPTIONAL wetsuit swim. Those choosing to wear a wetsuit
started 10 minutes later but were given the 2:20 to finish the swim. The
ultimate downside to wearing the suit was that the clock at the finish line
would be 10 minutes off. Looking back, I wish I would have worn the wetsuit for
(2) reasons. The first being that the wave was much smaller and second that I
would have saved some energy. I finished the swim feeling good. I did not have
the vertigo that I suffered in 2011 and overall felt strong. I started on the
right side of the pack after getting in the water with about 10 minutes to
spare. I feel that I was pushed farther back as more participants entered the
water. The swim was more brutal than I remembered with swimmers pulling on my
shoulder and legs as well as swimming over part of my body. I tried to find a
draft and was successful on a few occasions. My mantra through the swim was,
“relax and be calm.”
Transition:
After coming
out of the water, I passed the wetsuit strippers but never recognized the
timing mat. I made a race day decision NOT to worry about split times and to
simply watch my clock. I was disappointed when moving up the gear bag line to
the tent. The people around me were walking, which meant that I was walking
too. I had planned to slow jog/shuffle to the tent. I untied my bag while
getting through the line and was ready to dump my bag when I got to the tent. I
put on my helmet and shoes first. Then applied sunscreen. I found my spare nutrition
had melted into a glob, thankfully I had some already on the bike from the
morning.
Bike:
I felt great
on the bike. My computer was working great, we had an awesome tailwind on the
way up to Richards. I used my 3m to draft as much as possible when passing athletes, trying
to save as much energy as possible. At the hand ups, I alternated water with
powerade. My nutrition plan called for drinking ALL of the fluids that I took
at the aid station. The first 3 hours were meant to be energy blasts and
pretzels. I knew that eventually I would
need to grab some gu to replace the lost nutrition. At about mile 30 I grabbed
(2) gu packets and stashed them in my back pockets. I took 2-3 salt tablets per
hour focusing on taking them when I was on a “water” cycle. I watched my
cadence on the computer but ignored the average speed and distance. I rode from
aid station and mile marker sign to the next. I started feeling the effects of
the distance after Richards. The roads became bumpy and the false flats were
unwelcome as ever. I rode past the special needs knowing that I didn’t NEED
anything. At mile 60, I made a deal with myself to “treat” myself to the Cliff
bar fruit stick at the turn for Jackson. This gave me something to look forward
to and to know that I was on my way back in. I had a slight headache that I
attributed to the swim cap/goggles so I pushed a couple extra salt tablets to
be on the safe side. Since my last
practice ride on the backside on the course, Montgomery County must have
decided to refinish the road, it was uneven for much of the way to 105. Even pedaling into the wind on the way in was
ok, I was pushing a great pace and other than boredom, I was feeling excited
for the run. I knew that every minute that I finished before 3pm allowed me
more time to run the marathon and still reach my goal of a 13:?? Finish. At
about 11:30, I started drinking my perpetuem. About 80 miles in, I started getting an
occasional cramp in my left quadriceps on the medial side. I adjusted my
cadence and took my foot out of the clip to flex my toes and change the angle
of the muscle. I also made sure to take in perform at the aid stations with
water in my back up holder. The cramping was manageable but I noticed other
riders having similar difficulty so it was in the back of my mind that it could
become more trouble. The only part of the course that I had not previously ridden
was the last 10 miles. It was different from the 2011 course with added hills.
I started hearing a noise that sounded like a flat tire. After pulling over, my
rear wheel was flat. I didn’t pay any attention to the time or the computer
just focused on fixing the flat. I
estimate that it took at least 15 minutes. Unlike 2011, I didn’t suffer any
flats during training rides which made my response time slower. In addition,
the new bike operated differently than before. I was able to replace the tube
and used (2) Co2 cartridges to inflate the tube. I had a difficult time getting the tire back
on the bike, the chain was messing me up. I was proud of my patience and
determination to get it back on. During
this time, someone had yelled out that I only had 5 miles to go. I’m happy they
said it because when I got back on the bike, my computer had stopped working.
After riding a couple minutes, I hear the noise again that proved I had a flat
again. I decided that for five miles, I could ride it in. My pace slowed and I
could feel the fishtail when cornering. In my head, I was overly concerned with
what other people might think of me riding a flat tire. “Didn’t I know I had a
flat? Did I care that I might mess up my rim?” I was so happy to make it back
to transition and hand off my bike!
Transition:
I jogged
while on the grass through the bike racks. Once on the concrete, my shoes made
it difficult to run. I was stuck behind a couple of girls that were walking
VERY slowly so I nicely asked if I could get past them. I got my bag and found
some grass on the side of the gear line to jog to the tent. As before, I untied
my bag on the way to the tent. This time, I was greeted by a volunteer that
asked to help me. I handed her my bag and she directed me to a chair. She asked
to pour water down my back and I reluctantly agreed, it was warm water. She had
a teenage helper that I asked to fill my handheld water with ice water.
Meanwhile I started shucking clothes. My volunteer had dumped my bag and was
trying to lay my things out neatly for me and help me determine what I needed
and what I was finished using. I knew I had been in there longer than I planned
but felt like I didn’t waste too much time. After leaving transition, I used
the restroom. I knew I hadn’t gone to the bathroom since before the swim and
needed to know where I was with hydration. I hadn’t really felt the need to pee
on the bike but I knew I had taken in plenty of fluids. Luckily, I had much
success and thought I was leaving on the right foot for the run.
Run:
Again, I had
no idea where the transition ended and the run course started. I walked toward
the aid station and was happy that I didn’t have to stop to get fluids. I
grabbed a perform for good measure and off I went. I started jogging and was
quickly reminded of the heat. My mind wanted to move but my body was not
responding. The course started with a dirt out/back trail before climbing a
short steep hill into the parking lots. I walked this trail and continued
walking for at least 3-4 miles. My plan was to run 1 mile/ walk 1 minute,
26-1mile repeats. I kept trying to run but was only successful for about 50
yards then would be overcome with lightheadedness and chills. I took in 2 salt
tablets on the half hour and decided that I would continue with this pattern
each hour. I ate a gu on the hour. At the aid stations, I filled up my hand
bottle with water but would take perform and/or cola as offered throughout the
course. When I got to the waterway, I found some shade and made a larger effort
to jog. I continued a jog/walk pattern but was slowly increasing the run time.
It took me 2 hours to complete the first lap which would make it hard to finish
in the early 8pm hour. It started to cool off on the second lap. I jogged much
more, especially when it was shady on the course. My body felt better but my
walk times were still longer than 1 minute. Starting the third loop, I knew it
would be difficult to make an 8:59pm finish time putting my clock at 13:59. I
decided that I would run the entire last loop and only walk the aid stations.
At mile 22, I met up with a facebook friend, Paul that would run the remainder
of the course with me. His pace was faster than mine but I kept up with him. I
knew that it would bring me closer to the elusive 13:?? Finish. At mile 24, we
entered the waterway and felt like it would be the LONGEST 2 miles ever! We had
slowed down a bit, I just couldn’t keep pushing that pace. Looking at my watch,
I still knew it was possible to finish but it would take all I could give on
the course. When I entered the finish chute, I had hope but Ironman had put in the ultimate haze…an out/back
including an incline to the finish line. I finished at 14:01:54, so close to my
goal. This time represents a personal record of 38 minutes from 2011.
